How fun! I loved hearing your thoughts and opinions in more detail. I've never liked stainless and granite in kitchens; however, I have always liked white kitchens, marble counters and subway tile. I remodeled my kitchen (which had avacado green counters and cabinets) with these features, in 2001. Now I am taking on another kitchen remodel, and although I fear that this look is now so trendy and will probably be "dated" soon, I have decided that I don't care because nearly 10 years later I, personally, still love the look. I look forward to more podcasts :)noellefernandez@msn.com

I'm inspired...promise on returning home from Paris I'll get the Asian twist to contemporary design bloggingand learn and leave my address. After listening carefully to both discussions I might suggest just wee bit shorter or more concise...I am sure you all will learn loads and tighten up the format just through evolution of the idea. Do keep at itit is a fun and interesting concept.

Hi Anon at 1:22 - I would expect that as we gain more experience, our podcasts will be more concise, although we're a chatty group - so not sure they will be shorter - just more packed with commentary!

Thanks for a great podcast ladies and such a great topic! I read all three of your blogs (thanks to Cote de Texas)and think they all are equally informative. Joni's comment about antiques (her reference was specifically french) not dating a design scheme was right on. I too am a designer and think that old is always better whether it be american, english or french. Too many antiques can be museum like but a house without any has no soul! Keep up the good work!

ha! I kind of was on the fence on that one. I agree to some degree. Yes it can be timeless, but done too literally and perfectly, can be like anything, predictable. You can't be too adherent to a genre as to create lifeless-ness.

That was fun! And very informative, especially for someone like me just getting started in the design business.While I personally prefer white appliances in my own all-white, non-trendy kitchen, I do agree that stainless will become the third standard. But that sea ofstone countertops across America is already looking dated. What do you predict is the next trend and (what I really want to know) what's a better, more classic, lasting choice - besides marble (which is beautiful but not my thing)??

how fun! great idea and well done! look forward to hearing more podcasts - your blogs are terrific, so i have no doubt the podcasts will be just as delightful. as far as trends... i think the advice to pick items that you absolutely love and identify with are key - anything that has a personal story can be timeless. i look forward to listening to more, thanks! cheers, christa

It was wonderful hearing your experiences and thoughts on design blogging. I agree that the blogs that I appreciate and comment on the most are the ones that are relatable to me and have personality. I think blogs are the new neighborhoods. So many neighborhoods these days aren't the friendly coffee klatches of yesterday. So blogs give the feeling of listening to your next door neighbor on any given topic. For me, leaving comments is like giving applause. I would never comment negatively even if I disagreed with a blogger. Comments are my kudos to you bloggers for sharing your expertise, advice, wisdom, livelihoods and lives with me, a virtual stranger - or virtual friend. And Joni especially gets my comments for entertaining me and making me laugh out loud -- and for helping me straighten out my husband regarding hiring a designer. Your responses to my comments are even more appreciated and entertaining.

Love your ideas on the trends. I said that very same thing this weekend when we were out looking in various antique and furniture stores. I don't want what we do to look dated in five years. We decided to do exactly what you mentioned -- get what we love. We love prefer classic styles and then simply update the accent pieces -- artwork, lamps, etc.

How about doing a show regarding the dos and don'ts of hiring an interior designer - what to expect, etc.

How about having Tara Shaw on to share how to know if you are getting a good or raw deal on an antique and making sure you are purchasing a genuine antique in the first place.

Keep it up ladies. I will say it was a little bit more difficult to listen than to raed your blogs. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and will listen again.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your wonderful talent and time with us.

Sorry ladies, but one more idea popped into my head after I posted. How about having Maria of Color Me Happy as a guest host to share about the new color trends and choosing colors. I enjoy her blog and would love to hear her on your fabulous new "show!"

Truly enjoyed this! Felt like we were all sitting around the breakfast table having a little chat. I love the "casualness" of it and I heard you guys saying so much of what I've thought. Had to get up in the middle of it and head to the basement...tornado watch hit and the hail was coming down. Now you know I was enjoying it if I waited to last minute in tornado/hail storm to head for the basement! (LOL) And as Max cat and I were down there, hovering on the bottom step listening to the hail and thunder...what was I thinking...darn, I should have brought the computer down with me! :-) I missed the last 10 minutes...but I'll be back for more! Susan

A comment on commenting - I read all the blogs I follow through bloglines - which strips out the beauty of carefully designed headers etc. and also doesn't display all the comments etc.

I love to read the content of blogs and look at the pics - so a blog like Decorno that relies on comments as it's lifeblood is anathema to me in that setting as it requires too much effort to follow. If I particularly want to comment I will click through to the actual blog site and comment. This is probably true of many blog followers and something perhaps that bloggers should consider when creating content for their blogs.

Megan (commenter) - try blog lovin' - I know you don't want to set up another reader, but I had used Google Reader and hated it for all the reasons you listed above. blog lovin' delivers the page in the format that the blogger has created with the opportunity to comment right there - you don't have to click out. And, handy button on the bottom to move through your new posts. You can also save if you want to come back to something later. I love it.

Hi! I discovered your new venture a few minutes ago and just listened to your first podcast posted. I will get to the others tomorrow. Kudos for stepping outside of the box! I am so appreciative that you share your experiences and wisdom in blogging. Being relatively new to blogging, I am learning as I go. I am working on the personal aspect of my posts. I ended up posting about the death of my grand-dog and I was so touched by the number of comments. The kindness and empathy of those comments was heart warming.

I really enjoyed listening to this pod-cast - I'm doing a marathon session this morning catching up on all 3 of your first postings! I loved your discussion on "snarky-ness" - in my Antiques Diva blog one of the criticisms I've received is that I am too "perky" liking everything I see. I am a happy-go-lucky-girl and I can always find something I adore! It's in my nature... so when I blog about destinations I tend to share the positive and skip the negative. Over the past year I've struggled with how much negative insight I should share... in general I've taken the attitude, "if I don’t have anything nice to say, I say nothing at all.” That said, I’ve oodles of good things to say about you… I’m loving your new blog and have already learned so much. At first while listening I was doing other things, then I sat down, got out my pencil and started taking notes – learning from the masters!Toma

I am new to the world of Blogging, and I have to tell you, I found this podcast incredibly honest and informative. It was educative listening to industry professionals discuss their experiences with blogging as well as design trends. I love that I am contemplating new angles for my own blog, and how I approach design.

Would enjoy more depth into some of the discussions you touched on. (written or via podcast) Joni, where are kitchen appliance trends going? and what about Overcoming media saturation of design trends?

Ladies - thank you so much for sharing with us how you got started. I'm just beginning on this blogging adventure--mainly as a way to start capturing design concepts for renovating my new old home and learn more about the interior design field. I'm a policy person by day and really enjoy having the blog as my creative outlet. I think of interior design as "practical" art, you know. Creative, yet functional. Anyway, I really value your insights and would love your thoughts on my new blog called "Design Palate." It can be accessed on www.designpalate.wordpress.com.

Thanks so much for your beautiful, insightful posts and for engaging the design blogger world in conversation.

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The Skirted Roundtable

Please join us The Skirted Roundtable, aka Megan from Beach Bungalow 8, Linda from ::Surroundings::, and Joni from Cote de Texas as we discuss blogging and interior design on our weekly radio show. Feel free to either leave a comment or email us with topics you would like to hear us discuss. If you want to be a guest host on the show - please let us know that, too!

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Happy Labor Day and here's some incredible art to just think about, freak
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